Dennes Point to Bligh Point

This is a lovely, sheltered section of coastline facing the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. Dennes Point is the very northernmost tip of Bruny Island, and has expansive views down the Channel, across the Channel to Tinderbox and 'mainland' Tasmania, north up the Derwent River, and East towards South Arm, Storm Bay and the Tasman Peninsula

This is an important area for a mix of coastal birds including the wonderful White-Bellied Sea Eagle, Oystercatchers and White-Faced Herons. The coastal woodlands fringing this coast are also important and provide habitat for the Eastern Quoll, the Forty-Spotted Pardalote and a number of other important species. The underwater environment is equally important and beautiful, with flathead, stingray, seals, and seahorses frequenting this coastline.

There has been recent and growing controversy and concern over the expansion of industrial Salmon farming near this coastline, with the heavy waste underneath salmon pens causing degradation of the underlying seabeds and a disappearance of important marine habitats. This has recently famously been exposed in Richard Flanagan's new book,'Toxic'.

Walk your Kayak down to Jetty Beach where you can paddle out past the Jetty and then south past Boulder Point and then onwards in a south-western direction alongside the sheltered and usually relatively calm Nebraska Beach, the heart of Dennes Point. It is about a 2.5km paddle to the southern end of the beach, where some lovely Sandstone cliffs rise up approaching the small headland of Bligh Point. If you venture around the corner of Bligh Point, you’ll find some stronger winds and currents that run down the channel, and you have the option of exploring some interesting coastline further south along Killora Bay and beyond. After retracing your journey and returning to Dennes point and Jetty Beach, you have the option if the swells are manageable and the weather and forecast is safe and calm, to continue around the corner beyond Dennes Point and along some rocky shoreline and small cliffs to Cape De La Sortie. This is a much more exposed section of coast and should only be taken by experienced Kayakers in safe conditions. This extends your Kayaking trip by an additional 3-4km return of paddling, but does offer wonderful views up the River Derwent and out to the Iron Pot, Cape Direction and the Tasman Peninsula.

Whilst the section of coast between Dennes Point and Bligh point, facing the D'Entrecasteaux Channel, is often quite calm and sheltered, this is not always the coast, and paddlers should also be mindful that east beyond Dennes Point towards Cape De La Sortie, the waters are highly exposed to the swells of Storm Bay and the Southern Ocean and so you can face very hazardous conditions in this section of coastline.

Note that beyond Dennes Point out to Cape De La Sortie it is much more exposed so can be up to SO Grade 4-5, particularly on a rough day

Children should be accompanied by Adults, and the section of coast beyond Dennes Point towards Cape De La Sortie may not be appropriate for kids as it is in much more exposed waters